St Martin’s Day is a special occasion for winemakers throughout the world. Celebrated every year on November 11th, St Martin’s Day is very popular in wine-producing countries. St Martin’s Day can be celebrated in several ways. However, one of the most popular ways of celebrating is the baptism of a young wine. The symbolic ceremony turns must into young wine through blessing.
Besides the celebration, St Martin’s Day is a perfect occasion to review the success of a previous farm season, as well as to address the key factors of winemaker’s productivity and wine quality. After all,  winemakers that are completely devoted to success, always look for best practices that will improve their wine production.
Top Five Factors That Determine the Success of Wine Production
There is one saying claiming that quality wine is not made only from grapes and yeast but also from winemaker’s skills and patience. Well, it’s not far from the truth. Every winemaker is both, the scientist and the artist. As a matter of fact, some winemakers are also farmers who produce their own grapes. In other words, wine production is a multi-stage business that requires certain knowledge and skills, devoted work, as well as a pinch of personality.
In wine production, every single practice can make a big difference in taste, smell, and color of the wine. Among all factors contributing to the wine’s quality, five are worth mentioning:
1. Choice of adequate grape varieties
Grapes are the basis of wine production. Worldwide, there are thousands of grape varieties. Each of them has its own characteristics. In light of that, each grape variety will result in a different smell, color, and taste of the wine. Therefore, a successful winemaker should understand which wine characteristics can be achieved with a specific grape variety.
2. Growing conditions
Wine is produced throughout the world. Still, each wine region has its own characteristics. Therefore, after choosing the grape variety, a winemaker should consider growing conditions that are essential for expressing its unique characteristics:
- Climate
- Vineyard location
- Vineyard slope
- Slope direction
- Soil properties
- All farm practices that are done throughout the season in the vineyard
3. Time of the harvest
In wine production, it’s all about proper timing. The time of the harvest is a fundamental factor for wine quality. For winemakers, choosing the time of the harvest means managing the acidity, sweetness, and therefore, the level of alcohol.
4. Processing practices in a wine cellar
Every single practice that is done in the cellar will determine the quality of the wine. What’s even more interesting is that every winemaker has its own way of managing the processing activities in the cellar. For this reason, every bottle of wine is unique.
As a response to aforementioned, there is no unique recipe for the best wine. The only secret for successful cellar management is proper timing and regular monitoring.
5. Wine preservation and packaging management
Last, but not least is wine packaging and preservation management. Some winemakers prefer packing in bottles, while others pack their wine in bulk. Furthermore, a winemaker can also choose to store the wine in barrels or inox tanks. The choice of wine packaging and preserving will depend on the desired quality of wine and winemaker’s personal preferences, as well as possibilities. However, the most important thing for successful wine preservation is regular monitoring.
What Can You Do to Improve Your Wine Production?
Behind every bottle of wine, there is a lot of hard work in the vineyard and the cellar. Besides that, successful wine production requires a lot of knowledge, a pinch of creativity, and finally organization and accuracy.
If you are a winemaker who wants to be on the right track and improve your wine production, AGRIVI Wine Management module is the right solution. A cloud-based software lets you plan, monitor and analyze all activities in both vineyard or wine cellar. With AGRIVI Winery you can have control over all wine measurements, production costs, and get traceability for every bottle in your wine cellar.
Text sources:Â Enjoy Hopewell Valley Wines
